The African Billionaires 2012 Forbes List

Written by FORBES

The African Billionaires List

A record 1,226 billionaires made it to FORBES’ annual ranking of the World’s richest people. African billionaires occupied a little over 1% of the positions on the list. Here are the 16 Africans who made the cut:

Aliko Dangote, $11.2 billion Nigeria, Sugar, Cement, Flour

Africa’s cement king has shed more than $2.6 billion from his net worth since last year as a consequence of Nigeria’s floundering stock market. But don’t feel sorry: Dangote still remains the richest man on the continent.  He famously started trading commodities three decades ago with a business loan from an uncle, then went on to build the $15 billion (combined market capitalization) Dangote Group which now has interests in everything from sugar refineries, flour milling, salt processing and cement plants in Nigeria, Zambia, Senegal, Tanzania and South Africa.

Nicky Oppenheimer & family, $6.8 billion  South Africa, Diamonds

Last November, Oppenheimer agreed to a historic sale of his family’s 40% stake in De Beers, the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds to Anglo American in a $5.1 billion deal. Oppenheimer has vowed to invest a substantial part of the money in Africa. So far, he has invested heavily in Tana Africa Capital, a $300 million private equity joint venture with Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings. The fund will invest primarily in the agricultural and consumer goods sectors across Africa. Passionate cricketer.

Nassef Sawiris, $5.1 billion   Egypt, Construction

Nassef Sawiris, the youngest son of Orascom conglomerate founder and fellow billionaire, Onsi Sawiris, heads Orascom Construction Industries, one of Egypt’s largest publicly-traded companies. Sawiris also owns substantial stakes in cement companies Lafarge and Texas Industries.

Johann Rupert & family, $5.1 billion South Africa, Luxury Goods

Mike Adenuga, $4.3 billion Nigeria, telecom, banking, oil

Reclusive tycoon was the first Nigerian to strike oil in commercial quantities through his firm, Conoil Producing. Today, the company is Nigeria’s largest indigenous oil exploration company producing some 100,000 barrels per day. Also owns Globacom, Nigeria’s second largest mobile telecom operator which boasts over 15 million active subscribers.

Naguib Sawiris, $3.1 billion  Egypt, Telecom

Christoffel Wiese, $3.1 billion South Africa, Retailing

Onsi Sawiris, $2.9 billion Egypt, construction, telecom

Miloud Chaabi, $2.9 billion Morocco, Real estate

Patrice Motsepe, $2.7 billion South Africa, Mining

Born in the sprawling black township of Soweto and then trained as a lawyer, he became the first black partner at Bowman Gilfillan law firm in Johannesburg. Went on to found a small contracting business doing mine scut work, then bought low-producing gold shaft mines in 1994 which he turned profitable using lean management style. Today, his $5 billion (market cap) African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) has interests in platinum, nickel, chrome, iron, manganese, coal, copper and gold. Motsepe owns over 41% of the company. Also owns a 5% stake in Sanlam, a financial services firm outside Cape Town.

Othman Benjelloun, $2.3 billion  Morocco, banking, insurance

Mohamed Mansour, $1.7 billion Egypt, Diversified

Anas Sefrioui, $1.6 billion Morocco, Real estate

Yasseen Mansour, $1.6 billion Egypt, Diversified

Youssef Mansour, $1.5 billion Egypt, Diversified

Mohamed Al Fayed, $1.3 billion  Egypt, retailing